Connect your synths and drum machines to a wireless network with your iPhone.

San Francisco-based developer Alexandernaut has released an iOS app that connects any MIDI-enabled device to Ableton’s new Link technology.

Launched last November, Link wirelessly connects Ableton Live and a select number of iOS apps, allowing people to seamlessly play in time with each other over the same network. The one thing it doesn’t do is wirelessly sync hardware synths like Roland’s AIRA TB-3 without them first being hooked up to Live.

As Create Digital Music notes, Alexandernaut’s free Link to MIDI app fills that gap, acting as a bridge between Link and whatever piece of gear you might want to jam with – as long as it supports MIDI clock sync. You’ll need an iPhone or iPad and something like the iRig MIDI 2 to connect it to your hardware of choice, but it’ll turn your drum machine or synth into something you can jam with autonomously.

Interestingly, Link to MIDI can also be used to connect to non-Link apps, though this isn’t recommended – Alexandernaut would rather we contact the developers of our favourite apps and ask them them to include Link support, which it’s fair to say most people would probably like to see.

You can see Link to MIDI in action below, and grab it from the App Store. For more information on Link, check FACT’s recent interview with Ableton on how the technology will change musical collaboration.